Casting 'The Sardine Seller's Net of Love' in Portland

Toshimi Tanaka"The Sardine Seller's Net of Love": Yukio Mishima is best known for having been one of the 20th-century's greatest novelists, the author of "The Sound of Waves," "The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea" and "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion." But the prolific genius -- adept with both modern works and the scrupulous forms of noh and kabuki -- also was lauded as Japan's greatest playwright in the decades following World War II. Though he often wrote stories of dark psychological obsession, his greatest kabuki success was 1953's "The Sardine Seller's Net of Love," a charmingly lighthearted, even silly, satire of folk-tale romance in which a humble fish peddler pursues the most desired courtesan in Kyoto. Working from his own translation, Laurence Kominz, professor of Japanese language and literature at Portland State University, has directed a cast of Willamette University students in what he says is an English-language premiere and the first production (pictured) outside of Japan's grand kabuki theaters. Following two weekends in Salem, the show transfers to Portland, bringing a rare view of kabuki's expressive splendor. 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Scottish Rite Center, 709 S.W. 15th Ave.; $8-$12, 503-725-3307 or www.ticketmaster.com